Page tags

Add a new page

The shadowpath connecting Amber and Minos is once more in place, though it is not like it was before. The path now begins near the Isles of the Sun, much as it did before, but the land it passes through is different, and the endpoint is now Whitehold, the Feldane lands in Minos. The New Path is as follows, in a general sense:

From the Isles of the Sun, one sails south along the given route to a shadow named Estereth. Closest to Amber's seas, Estereth is a small nation of fierce individualists. The largest social units in existence are small tribes, and even these rarely last more than a few generations before individual egos and tempers force schisms. The Estherethites have no industry of their own, but previous civilizations have left much in the way of artifacts, and clever scavengers can find themselves in positions of power before they are brought down by other ambitious souls. They have a superstitious fear of the sea, though, and this more than anything else has kept them confined.

Next from Estereth one travels to a rich island, green and lush, along the route between Minos and Amber. The cove is sheltered and deep, and the island itself is rich in fresh fruit and clear water year-round. The natives are beautiful and friendly, and the native rum is fantastic, leaving nary a hangover. In other words, sailor's heaven. For a sailor to pass up such a layover takes a heroic act of will, but it must be done to continue on the path.

Next, as one moves towards Minos from Amber, one enters a fog bank known as Stormalog's Breath. It is impenetrably thick, with the only character being the color of light filtering dimly through the mist, and the shadows that drift just out of sight - rocks, other ships, strange monsters all seem just past the limits of clear vision, but they can never be reached. Only dead reckoning can navigate through the fog.

If you make it past Stormalog's breath, your next test is the Black Squall. The clouds of the Black Squall never pass, darkening sun and moon alike. Likewise, the rains and winds of the storm rage eternally, never breaking, never reaching a peak. A ship sailing through the Black Squall must be mindful at all times, lest it capsize and be lost forever.

And if you make it through all that, you'll finally come out at the Bone Tower at the edge of Minos. At the edge of Minosian waters, off the cost of Whitehold, one can reach an island of black sand, where no plants grow. From the center of the island, a tall and narrow tower of dingy white rises to brush dark clouds. There are no doors to the tower, and yet when night falls the top of the tower shines forth with green-tinged corpselight.